“Occupy India’s Northeast?”: Bangladesh Distances Itself from Retired General’s Provocative War Remark Amid India-Pakistan Tensions

As India and Pakistan reel from the fallout of the Pahalgam terror attack, a former Bangladeshi military officer’s suggestion to invade India’s northeast draws sharp global scrutiny and official denial from Dhaka.

May 3, 2025: In a controversial Facebook post, retired Bangladeshi Major General ALM Fazlur Rahman—a former head of the Bangladesh Rifles—suggested that Bangladesh “occupy India’s northeastern states” if India engages in war with Pakistan. The comment comes amid heightened tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 civilians were killed.

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Rahman, who currently leads a government-appointed probe into the 2009 Pilkhana massacre and holds a status equivalent to an appellate division judge, claimed Bangladesh should ally with China and consider a joint military initiative against India in the event of regional conflict.

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However, the Bangladeshi government has firmly distanced itself from his inflammatory statement. Shafiqul Alam, media adviser to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, clarified that Rahman’s remarks are personal views and not aligned with Dhaka’s official stance.

“The government neither endorses nor supports such rhetoric in any form or manner,” the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said in a formal statement.

The incident is the latest in a series of controversial comments made by officials or advisers in the Yunus-led interim government, which took charge after the collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s administration in August 2024.

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Weeks ago, Yunus himself described India’s northeastern region as “landlocked” and promoted Bangladesh as the “Guardian of the Ocean”, encouraging Chinese expansion in the Bay of Bengal. The statement sparked diplomatic backlash from New Delhi, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly warning Yunus during the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok to avoid rhetoric that escalates regional tension.

Adding to the controversy, Asif Nazrul, a law adviser in the interim Bangladeshi government, recently drew flak for meeting a known Lashkar-e-Taiba affiliate, Harun Izhar, and making inflammatory remarks on social media about the Pahalgam massacre. Although Nazrul later deleted his post and denied ties with terror groups, India has grown increasingly wary of Bangladesh’s diplomatic positioning post-Hasina.

No official response has been issued by the Indian government regarding General Rahman’s latest remarks, but given the strategic sensitivity of India’s northeastern region, experts expect strong diplomatic protests if such comments persist.

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